Double ratchet for roller skates



Oct. 27,1925 v L. C. VERGANO DOUBLE RATCHET FOR ROLLER SKATES Filed March 5, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

gwucntoz I Oct. 27, 1925' L. c. VERGANO DOUBLE RATCHET FOR ROLLER SKATES F'i1ed March 5, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 M I a 1 0 w Fatented Oct. 27, 1925.

LUI c. VERGANO, or BERKELEY, oamroama.

DOUBLE RATC-HET en 391 11 11]. xa'rnsgi Application filedMaigche, 1gz4 'seriai at,69aor2 To all; whom it may comer n:

Be it known that I, Lm Cr. VERGANQ', a subject of the King of Italy, residing at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Double Ratchets for Roller Skates; and I do. hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make same.

My invention relates to improvements in rollerskates, and its primary object is, the. provision of a'nov'el attachmentfor skates of this character which is. adapted .to perm'it the use of the skates Wi h the least p os sible exertion and .which will reduce to the minimum the possibility of accidents especially during the time that a person is learning to use the skates.

A further object of the invention'is the provision of an attachment for roller skates which shall embody a pair of'pawls' and ratchet teeth carried by the front wheels of the skate, the attachment being adapted to prevent any backward rotation of the front wheels, which shall be simple, durable and eflicient, and which may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost. lVi-th the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein: v V Figure l is a View in side elevation of aroller skate equipped with a ratchet mechanism constructed in accordance with my in wention, one'of the; front Wheels being omitted to illustrate mechanism, 7 Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the for ward portion of the skate, 7 Figure 3 is a view in elevation of the front end of the skate, T

Figure elis a detail View in side elevation of the pawl and pawl carrying bracket on the ratchet mechanism,

Figure 5 is a detail view in front elevation of the pawls and pawl carrying bracket, Figure .6 is a detail view in rear elevation of the pawls and pawl carrying bracket,

the application of the Figure 7 is a sectional view .taken on the vertical plane indicated y the line ,7-7 of u e nd a and use the Figure 8' is av detail view in perspective of'one of'th'e pa w1-s,

numerals, 1 designates the tread plate, 2 the: rear wheels and, 3 the front wheels of a roller skate of the. usualyor any approved construction, The fron't wheels are mounted on an axle"4,randthe axle is carried by a wh ch extends for-s cylindrical bearing 5 I w'ardly from the center of the lowerend of Referring to the drawings by reference the hanger 6.1 Thisbearing and hanger are of the usual construction and are connected to the tread plate 1 1n the usual manner i The ratchet mechan sm comprises a 'pair of pawls 7 which cooperate with ratchet teeth. 8 to prevent any backward rotation of the front wheels 3 The ratchet teeth 8 are preferably formed in the inner. faces of the front wheels 3. The pawls 7 are pivotally mounted on the cross member 9 of an in verteld U-sh'aped bracket, the side members or arm s10, of which are provided with openings 1 1 to receive the bearing 5. To receive the web 12 by which the bearing 5 is secured to the hanger 6, and thereby permit the application of the bracket to the bearing, the side members or. arms 10 are provided with slots'13 which communicate with theopenings 11 and which open out through the rear edges of; the side members or. arms. The rear edges of theside members or arms 1O enga' 'e. the hanger 6, and owing thereto the brac :et. is held against any rotary move-v menton the bearing 5, the bracket being held against any movement lengthwise of the hearing by the front Wheels 3'. The

pawls 7 are pivotally mounted uponsleeves 7 confined between plates 14 and 15, and these parts are secured together. and to the cross member 9 0f the bracket by the pins 16 which pass through the sleeves. The

" sleeves 7 are slightlylonger than the thickness of the pawls 7-, and hold the plates spaced slightly from. the pawls so that the a t r ma t n r ely; th le ve b i eld. ainst ro t e' by he T;, i? n 91 ta'ct' between their ends and the plates. The pins 16 are also used to secure to'the under side ofthe cross member 9 theangled upper end 17 of a hanger arm 18 which is positioned between the side members or arms 10 and to the lower end of which a spring is secured. This spring comprises one or more loops 19 which surround a sleeve 20 upon a pin 21 carried by the lower end of the hanger arm 18, and. arm 22 wh h end.

upwardly and pass freely through openings in the pawls 7. To retain the coil or coils 19 on the sleeve 20, and to retain the sleeve upon the pin 21, a washer 24. is secured to the forward end of the pin. The outer or active ends 25 of the pawls are substantially V-shaped, and they are inclined upwardly and laterally. The ratchet teeth 8 may be readily formed in the inner sides of the front wheels 3, or they may be formed in plates which may be secured in any suitable manner to the inner sides of the wheels.

To equip a skate with my improved mechanism, it is only necessary to position the pawl carrying bracket upon the front axle bearing 5 of the skate, and mount upon the axle 4: two wheels provided at their inner sides with ratchet teeth. The pawl carrying bracket may be readily attached to the front axle bearing 5, and when in position is held against any accidental. movement by the hanger 6 and by the front wheels 3. The pawl carrying bracket occupies an upwardly and forwardly inclined position, and the pawls 7 extend downwardly and forwardly and outwardly from the upper end of the bracket, and they are held in position to engage the ratchet teeth by thearms 22 of the spring.

While the pawls prevent any backward rotation of the front wheels they offer little or noresistance to their forward rotation. As the front wheels cannot rotate backwardly, the skate which is not on the forward stroke cannot slip, and owing thereto long distances may be covered with comparati'vely little fatigue, the liability of falling is reduced to the minimum, the pleasure derived from skating is greatly increased, and the art of skating may be acquired in a comparatively short time.

It should be understood that the drawings are merely illustrative and do not pretend to give exact proportions. Furthermore, the said drawings areillustrative of a preferred construction, it being my expectation that various changes and modifications -may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A roller skate having the front wheels thereof provided with ratchet teeth, a bracket secured to the skate between said wheels and occupying an upwardly and 2. A roller skate having a hanger pro vided with a bearing, an axle carried by said bearing, wheels mounted upon the axle and provided at their inner sides with ratchet teeth, a bracket applied to said bearing, pawls pivoted to the bracket, and a spring carried by the bracketand engaging the pawls to hold them in the paths of said ratchet teeth.

3. A roller skate having a hanger provided with an axle bearing projecting beyond the lower end thereof, a bracket having openings to receive said bearing and contacting with said end of the hanger, an axle carried by the bearing, wheels mounted upon the axle and provided at their inner sides with ratchet teeth, pawls pivoted to the bracket, and a spring carried by the bracket and urging the pawls into the path of said ratchet teeth.

i. A ratchet mechanism forroller skates,

including a U-shaped bracket having the side members thereof provided with openings, a hanger arm secured to the cross member of the bracket, pawls pivoted to said cross member, and a spring carried by the hanger arm and engaging the pawls.

5. A ratchet mechanism for roller skates, including a bracket, plates, elements securing the plates to the bracket, pawls positioned between the plates and pivotally secured in place by said elements, sleeves carried by the pawls and receiving said elements and contacting with said plates, and

a spring carried by the bracket and engag-' ing the pawls.

6. A ratchet mechanism for roller skates, including a bracket, pawls pivoted to said bracket and having inclined active ends of substantially V-shape, and a spring connected to the bracket and engaging the pawls.

I 7. A ratchet mechanism for roller skates, including a bracket, and pawls pivot-ally connected to the bracket and provided with inclined active ends of substantially V- shape.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

LUI C. VERGANO. 

